The Anguish of Homesickness
by Molly Renata
Summary: It really, really sucks to be away from home. And speaking of which, what is this place anyway? A fanfic inspired by a sleepless night and a character comparison.
1. Chapter 1

**The Anguish of Homesickness**

* * *

_Author's Notes: So, as some of you can probably tell, I went and got myself into a new fandom. Lovely. I'm not sure how long it's gonna last, and it's very likely that only bad things are going to happen from this point forward considering my choice of first fic for said fandom (a crossover, really!), but bear with me. I'll try not to make this too horrible. Emphasis on __**try**__._

_This fic is going to be set in a world I spawned from the hellish depths of my imagination. It's called Azoria, and although the setting is mostly original, I use it more for fanfics than anything else. It would take waaay too long to explain the whole thing (I literally have entire documents written up on this thing), so I'll try to explain it as best I can as the story goes on... if it does, indeed, go on. Anyone who knows me probably also knows that I'm not well-known for consistency with updates._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own ideas. And there are many who would doubt my sanity because of those ideas._

* * *

It had been a quiet, peaceful day in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. For once, the streets had not been crammed with people going to and fro, and the Novus Orbis Librarium had not sent its stronger agents on patrol to search for the criminal that was said to be approaching the city. For once, Ragna had believed that maybe his mission would go off without a hitch, in spite of all the warnings he had received prior.

Then, without warning, there had been a blinding flash of light, and for several minutes, he had not been able to see a thing.

And when he woke up, he realized that wherever he was, it was _not_ the 13th Hierarchical City.

Plains blanketed with thick grass stretched out for miles around him, and the sky was colored a brilliant azure, with only the faintest wisps of clouds to obscure the sun. The air smelled refreshing and sweet, and the warmth and touch of humidity indicated that the season was late spring. It was nothing like the cold winter landscape that he'd been traversing before he arrived in Kagutsuchi, and there wasn't a trace of seithr in the air.

Ragna stood up, rubbed his head and looked around again. He blinked a few times, just to make sure it wasn't an illusion.

And then, he screamed.

"WHAT IN THE HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LLLLLLLLLLL!?"

Whatever had happened, it was out of the ordinary. Even with the most advanced ars magus, relocation of this sort was impossible - Ragna could not even tell if he was still on Earth or not, and even if he was, this was nowhere near Kagutsuchi, and in a completely different time than his own. The only viable explanation was that someone else had interfered with time and space itself to transport him to a different era and place, but that still did not explain the lack of seithr... how far back had he gone?

It was then that he noticed a human-shaped lump sprawled out on the grass nearby. The first thing that caught Ragna's eye was the fact that this person, whoever they were, had messy, curly silver hair; then, he saw that aside from a wooden sword inscribed with the words "Lake Touya" on the hilt, the person had no armament. Slowly, the nameless person shifted into a sitting position, and Ragna narrowed his eyes as their gaze met his.

"Oi, don't scream like that... ugh, I definitely had too much to-"

The silver-haired stranger fell silent and blinked at Ragna a few times. In his confusion, the Grim Reaper had not noticed the gender of the newcomer, but it became obvious when he spoke - a deep, lazy voice that seemed oddly familiar, almost as if Ragna had heard the voice himself before, but he couldn't place it, at least not right away. And so, Ragna brushed it off as coincidence; there were more important things at the moment than putting a face to a voice that he didn't know well.

"...who the hell are you?" Ragna demanded, his confusion changing to aggravation. "And do you have _any_ freakin' idea where we are right now?"

The stranger shook his head, then pulled himself to his feet - and blocked the light of the sun from his eyes. "Too damn bright... oi, I could ask the same of you. Who are you?"

"I asked first, asshole," Ragna snapped, as he clenched his right hand into a fist. "Tell me your goddamn name before I rip your head off."

"Eh?" The stranger raised his hand from his face and blinked again. "You wake up on the wrong side of the bed or somethin'? Why're you threatening some guy you don't even know?"

Ragna breathed a long, heavy sigh. "...Well, first off, I don't know where the hell we are, and second off, I don't know why I ended up next to some drunk bastard that doesn't even use a real sword. Much as I hate to admit it, you're my only lead, so just tell me your name already."

"Right, right, I get it, I get it." The stranger waved his hand, then rubbed his temple. "Name's Gintoki Sakata. And since I introduced myself, you gonna do the same?"

"Gintoki...?" Ragna repeated the name to himself as his thoughts went into overdrive; the name sounded vaguely familiar, but somehow wrong, as if a famous celebrity had changed their name by one letter. After a few seconds of attempting to process the fact, he gave up and narrowed his eyes again. "...Tch. My name's Ragna... Ragna the Bloodedge."

Gintoki stared at Ragna for a moment, then cocked his head to the side and stuck a finger up his nose. "Bloodedge? What kinda title is that? You just call yourself that to sound edgy? I could come up with a better title-" He paused mid-sentence, and his gaze wandered as his hand fell to his side. "...Wait. Wait, wait, wait. This isn't- hey, Ragnarok! Where the hell are we?"

Ragna answered Gintoki's question with an incredulous glance. "I wanted to know that too! And why are you calling me 'Ragnarok'? It's 'Ragna', you dumbass!"

"But it sounds kinda like 'Ragnarok'!" Gintoki insisted. "And it's a way cooler title than 'Bloodedge'! I mean, you could be Ragnarok, the Endbringer! See? Doesn't that sound better than 'Bloodedge'!?"

"Why the hell do you even care so much!?" As Ragna neared his wit's end, he began to channel power into the Azure Grimoire; despite the lack of seithr in the surrounding area, it seemed to work just as well as always. "I got my own reasons for having that title, okay!?"

At those words, and at the strange aura that surrounded Ragna's right arm, Gintoki deflated; neither of them knew what had happened, and figuring that out was far more important than a silly title. "So, uh... you got a GPS or something? Or a compass? A map? Anything? Maybe that thing on your arm can help us out? I don't know what it is, but it looks like it can do _something_... what _is_ that thing, anyway?"

Ragna stared at his trembling companion for exactly three seconds; then, he rolled his eyes and pulled up the sleeve on his right arm. "Since you didn't know who I was, I'm gonna guess you're not from the same place I am. In that case, I'll tell you what this 'thing on my arm' is. It's _my goddamn arm_. It's called the Azure Grimoire, and it lets me use ars magus. Now do I need to explain _that_ to you, too?"

"Uh, I-I think I get it now." Gintoki took a slow step back and began waving his hands in front of him. "S-so, um, please don't kill me, okay?"

Ragna allowed the energy he'd gathered in the Azure Grimoire to dissipate, then planted his palm on his forehead. Of all the things to happen when he came to Kagutsuchi, he just _had_ to get warped off to some weird place he didn't know about, and with this silver-haired idiot who didn't seem to understand the concept of personal space... before he could refocus his mind, said idiot decided to open his mouth again.

"...wait. Weren't you in that one QSP game? Uh, what was it called... MazeBleu or something like that... I don't know, but I think you look a lot like the protagonist there..."

Ragna blinked twice. "What?"

"...never mind." Gintoki looked... disappointed at Ragna's denial; Ragna brushed it off as the fool thinking he'd been in a videogame, only to be turned down by reality. "So... as I was saying before. You have anything we might be able to find our way around with? Does that... Azure Grimoire let you find your way around?"

"I could give it a shot," Ragna replied. "Don't know where the hell we are, though, so I don't know if there's any civilization nearby. If there isn't, we're gonna have to look around for a place where we can camp out."

Gintoki shuddered at the word 'camp'; Ragna raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, and instead focused on his Azure Grimoire. There were a few ars that would allow him to, if nothing else, find a place to rest for the night... whether that place was a town or a sheltered river was up to fate, although Ragna did not particularly like the hand fate had dealt him as of late.

He was in a strange place, nothing like what he was used to, and the only other person around was a guy that made Noel Vermillion look like a genius. The only thing that reassured him was that his lone companion seemed strong enough... though considering the dolt's choice of armament, Ragna doubted that Gintoki could put up an actual fight in spite of his apparent strength. Only time would answer that question, but something told Ragna not to underestimate the silver-haired stranger.

* * *

_Author's Notes: Well, some of you might be a little confused by some of the things that went on here._

_For those of you who are unfamiliar with BlazBlue - ars magus is the most common form of magic in the 'verse, and it's basically magitech in a fashion. Seithr is the stuff used to power ars magus - it's toxic in large quantities. And yes, Ragna thinks that Noel is an idiot, or at least calls her one all the time._

_For those of you who are unfamiliar with Gintama - yes, Gintoki's wooden sword really does have "Lake Touya" inscribed on the hilt. And yes, it's a good idea not to underestimate him._

_Ragna finds Gintoki's voice familiar - Ragna and Gintoki are both voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in Japanese._

_MazeBleu - I completely made this one up, and the name is subject to change. If you hadn't guessed already, it's a parody of "BlazBlue"._

_And I end the chapter on a cliffhanger. I'm not sure if I'm even going to continue this, but who knows, maybe I will._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Anguish of Homesickness**

* * *

It had been three days since the unlikely pair of strangers first met.

At first, Gintoki did not get along well with his new comrade. Ragna was foul-mouthed, foul-tempered, and tried to avoid conversation whenever he could; it was clear that the odd-eyed man had some serious insecurities about his past, and the _thing_ that took the place of his right arm spooked Gintoki quite a bit. It wasn't normal, whatever it was... Ragna had said that it was called an 'Azure Grimoire', but it didn't look like a book at all, and it was more black than blue.

Well, Gintoki hadn't ever played MazeBleu himself; he'd only heard of it before, and it never interested him that much. But if his suspicions were correct, he would know a _lot_ more about it by the time this little adventure ended.

The second day went much smoother than the first. Despite the thoughts of the other Yorozuya, Gin _did_ sometimes like to eat things that didn't contain sugar, so he accepted Ragna's wilderness breakfast with gusto... and, as it turned out, the strange man was actually _very_ good at cooking, something that Gintoki never expected from someone like him.

After that, their interactions were much smoother. Ragna seemed to ease up once he realized that Gintoki was not a threat, but he _did_ remain annoyed by the fact that his companion was always lounging about, complaining, or both when they weren't on the move.

When the pair finally reached civilization, Gintoki felt overjoyed. Though Ragna's skill with wilderness dwelling would leave lesser men green with envy, it was still troublesome sleeping on the cold ground, and a nice, warm bed sounded like heaven. In addition, there was still the hope that they'd be able to find out where they were, although _that_ would have to wait.

In the very first restaurant they stopped at, Gintoki caught sight of two very familiar faces.

"Hijikata, that's not very nice to your lunch. Have you ever asked your food what it thinks of that?"

"There's no need to. I can tell just by looking that it _needs_ mayonnaise."

"People don't normally eat dog food, you know. I guess it does fit you, though."

Ragna attempted to drown out the argument between the black-haired man and his sandy-haired companion. "The hell is up with those two? And why are you staring at them like that? You know them or something?"

"Wish I didn't," Gintoki muttered, as he cast his gaze toward the floor. "The mayo freak's Hijikata. The other one's Okita. They don't look it, but they're police - Shinsengumi." He rubbed his neck. "Explaining things is a pain in the ass, you know... you coulda just asked them."

Without further ado, Ragna marched up to the pair and tapped the sandy-haired one on the shoulder. "Hey, you. You know this idiot, don't you? Take care of him for me."

"Eh?" Okita craned his neck up to meet Ragna's gaze, then raised an eyebrow, quizzical. "Oh, the boss is here. Thank goodness. I thought I'd be stuck with Hijikata for the rest of my time here."

Before either Gintoki or Hijikata could make any interjections, Ragna shot a disgusted look at the pile of vinegared condiment that rested atop the black-haired man's lunch. "You're... Hijikata, right? What did mayonnaise do to you?"

"I've been wondering that myself all my life," Okita replied, causing Hijikata to twitch. "But he's a dog. It fits him."

"Shut it, Sougo," Hijikata snapped. "And you, what the hell do you think you're doing, talking about mayonnaise like that?" He stood up and glared at Ragna. "And who are you, and how do you know the Yorozuya?"

"...Yorozuya?" Ragna blinked twice, confused. "The hell're you talking about?"

Gintoki stepped up to Ragna and gave him a Look. "You know, if you didn't ignore me all the time, maybe you'd know. So please, stop doing that." Then, he turned to Hijikata. "I ended up with him when we came here. Not really sure how it happened, but he can cook... haven't had dessert in days, though. I think I'm dying of sugar deficiency."

"You just wanna give yourself diabetes, you sugar freak!" Hijikata grabbed Gintoki's collar and dragged him closer. "The least you can do is try and figure out where the hell we got ourselves to, and why I'm stuck with _Sougo!_"

"Who is this guy, Boss?" Okita inquired, unfazed by his superior's behavior. "You said you ended up with him when you came here, but where's he from?"

"His name is Ragnarok," Gintoki replied, calmly shoving off Hijikata. "Ragnarok the Endbringer. And that red thing on his arm is a blue book... but it doesn't really _look_ like a book to me, so maybe he's lying."

"Stop calling me that!" Ragna shoved himself in front of Gintoki, determined to introduce himself properly. "My name's Ragna the Bloodedge. I don't know where the hell he got this whole 'Ragnarok' thing from, but it's _really_pissing me off, so could you tell him to stop?"

Hijikata fumed for several seconds, then went back to his mayo-smothered lunch; Okita continued to observe Ragna, intrigued by him. After a brief period of awkward silence, the sandy-haired young man spoke up.

"So, Ragnarok, is that really a blue book on your arm?"

Ragna twitched, then clenched his hand into a fist. "...Didn't I just say I'm not Ragnarok? And no, it's not 'blue book', it's 'Azure Grimoire'. And it's not _on_ my arm, it _is_ my arm."

"Oh, so your arm's a book," Okita said, tilting his head. "Is it a horror novel? Seems like one to me. How'd your arm get replaced by a book, anyway?"

"...You know what?" Ragna turned around and hung his head; he had passed the point of absolute fury into a state of disbelief. "I give up. I'm not even gonna try anymore. You assholes can find your way home on your own. I'm not gonna deal with this bullshit from a little kid and some mayo freak. I swear to God, I'm never gonna cook with mayo again."

Okita blinked a few times and poked Ragna's backside. "How'd you get here, Ragnarok? Did you destroy the planet you came from?"

Right then, as if summoned by the presence of the white-haired Grim Reaper, a girl clad in a skintight blue bodysuit crashed through the door of the restaurant and flung herself at Ragna. Gintoki's eye twitched as the girl hugged Ragna hard enough to suffocate him; this scene felt familiar, and the only things that were missing were a pair of glasses and monkey-like squealing.

It came as a surprise to Gintoki when, after pushing the girl off, Ragna patted her on the head and gave her a much gentler hug.

"Hey, Nu."

Gintoki stared at the newcomer, confused beyond all belief. This girl's behavior was remarkably similar to that of the purple-haired ninja that always pestered him; however, Ragna was unfazed by it, and even welcomed the crazy girl as if she was a long-lost lover. The relative silence that followed her appearance was broken when the girl called Nu opened her mouth; her voice was high-pitched, and she spoke with the enamored tone of a teenage girl with a crush.

"Nu missed you, Ragna! It's so good to see you again! This place is really weird and confusing... Nu kept getting lost... but now I know that everything's gonna be okay! Because even if this place is weird and scary, Nu will always be happy as long as she's with Ragna!"

"So, uh..." Gintoki hesitated; he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to interrupt this heartwarming reunion. "I take it you... know this girl? Who is she? And what's she doing here? And why's she acting like a creepy stalker?"

Ragna breathed a resigned sigh and turned his attention to Gintoki; he paid no mind to the silver-haired girl clinging to his arm. "Yeah, she's Nu. And... well, I don't really wanna talk about it, but... she has her reasons for acting like that. Don't treat her too rough, alright? She's been through a lot."

A sense of pure relief swept over Gintoki; he was worried at first that Ragna had managed to pick up a stalker of his own, but the odd-eyed man didn't seem to mind Nu's clingy behavior. So, instead of worrying more about the situation, Gin focused on the task he'd had in mind when they first entered the restaurant.

"Oi, Ragnarok. I haven't had dessert in too long, so d'ya think you could get Gin a nice chocolate parfait?"

Ragna growled. "...With what money? Do I _look_ like a freakin' rich kid to you? And it's _Ragna_, goddammit! Stop calling me Ragnarok!"

"...Ragna, who's this guy?" Nu pointed at Ragna's companion, confused. "And... is he friends with that mayo-person?"

Gintoki whimpered, Hijikata twitched, and Okita turned a curious glance toward Nu. Ragna breathed a long sigh and placed his forehead in his palm; this was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

_Author's Notes: I'm probably getting characterization waaay off here. This is my first time writing for Gintama, and I haven't written anything BlazBlue in quite some time, so I apologize for any OOCness._

_I was originally going to have Okita recognize Ragna as "the protagonist from MazeBleu" (for the sake of comedy), but decided against it for various reasons, none of which will be explained here._

_And if anyone is wondering why Ragna isn't absolutely terrified of Nu, it's because I felt like it. And because shipping. There, I said it._

_Also, I will freely admit to not really liking to use Japanese honorifics in my fanfiction. That isn't a character thing, that's a personal thing, so try not to mind it too hard.  
_


End file.
